Corrections workers oust union

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Department of Corrections workers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to end their 18 years of union representation.

Employees voted 2,879 to 1,503 against representation by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which vowed to challenge the results.

The effort to oust the union was led by the Missouri Correction Officers Association, which has about 2,300 dues-paying members but does not call itself a union. The group has said the union has done little to help its members.

State Rep. Larry Crawford, R-Centertown, a supporter of the union decertification effort, said he was pleased by the outcome.

"I'm glad we've got this contentious issue over with, and now we can begin lifting up the image of corrections officers and the work they do," Crawford said. "This sends a message that the union wasn't doing its job."

AFSCME was authorized to bargain on behalf of about 6,800 prison guards, cooks, case workers and maintenance workers in the Department of Corrections.

Officials of the union said the vote represented just 42 percent of employees eligible to vote. The union alleged that supervisors intimidated, harassed and interfered with employees who had shown past support for the union.

"An election held under these kind of conditions is a fraud and should not stand," said Mike Sukal, an AFSCME organizer. "We're not going to let it stand."

The union has 10 days to file a challenge to the results with the state Board of Mediation in Jefferson City.

Wednesday's election results came about a month after union and state negotiators had reached a new labor agreement calling for the payment of $7.7 million in long-overdue overtime, additional pay for working undesirable shifts and more say over schedules for veteran employees.

It is not clear if that agreement will take effect.